Discussions at the National Consortium on Testing conference are summarized. Updates on recent and upcoming events are given by Jeff Schiller (National Institute of Education), Doug Whitney (American Council on Education), John Maxwell (National Council of Teachers of English), Dorianne Almann (National Science Teachers Association), Eric Gardner…

This report summarizes the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress 1977-78 assessment of mathematics. Chapter one provides general information about mathematics assessments and includes discussion of the objectives, samples, exercises, statistics, and background variables of the assessment. Chapter two considers changes in…

The Pennsylvania School Improvement Program (PSIP) was created to assist local schools and school districts in the development of curriculum improvement strategies. The process involves the use of "linkers," curriculum specialists who work with teams from the local level to ascertain needs, then connect the local teams with the research…

The Pennsylvania School Improvement Program (PSIP) was created to assist local schools and school districts in the development of curriculum improvement strategies. The process involves the use of "linkers," curriculum specialists who work with teams from the local level to ascertain needs, then connect the local teams with the research…

Findings are presented of an empirical study involving public, private, and parochial school systems' use of standardized test information by central office administrators. Examples of actual use are given, and descriptions of central office perspectives on standardized testing are detailed. Three categories were found to account for most of the…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) administered the selected supplemental mathematics exercises to 13-year-old students during October and November 1975 and to 17-year-old students during March and April 1976. This assessment represents a specially modified supplement to 1972-73 full-scale mathematics assessment and was…

This report describes the major aspects of a University of Michigan project, "Competency-Based Teacher Education Focusing on the Directed Teaching Experience," and presents results of the first semester's experience with a newly developed assessment model. The primary goals of the project were: (1) to develop an assessment system which would…

The modern school system has become overloaded with expectations, many of which simply cannot be met. A large part of the problem is that programs are instituted without planning, thought, or evaluation, and concepts like career education are taught separately instead of being integrated into the curriculum. Successful dealing with problems…

Audiences were surveyed at the federal, state, and local levels in an effort to determine how the National Assessment of Educational Progress could be made more useful in meeting their needs. Recommendations fell into several major categories: (1) increased dissemination of assessment materials and access to data; (2) increased data interpretation…

By law the Mississippi Commission on School Accreditation has the primary responsibility for assuring the quality of elementary and secondary education programs in the state. The Commission finds its role as one of validation and process evaluation according to established procedures. Recently, the state legislature mandated the establishment of…

This group of reports constitutes the first series of observations designed to document the experiences of six state agencies (Delaware, Oregon, Michigan, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi) which are developing model program evaluation/management support units that will affect the development and implementation of policy in federal/state…

The methodology used during the 2-year project involving 14 case studies of rural education improvement programs consisted of 4 sets of overlapping activities: (1) gearing up and completing the study design; (2) site visits, data collection, and case study write ups; (3) data analysis; and (4) technical assistance. The gearing up period was…

California's Pupil Proficiency Law requires each local school district to adopt standards of proficiency in the basic skills of reading comprehension, writing, and computation. Students are to be assessed in grades 4-11. Students not making sufficient progress towards meeting the district's standards are to be provided with remedial programs, and…

An overview of the assessment of the basic skills of prospective secondary level education students at Pennsylvania State University is provided in this paper. Assessment in the areas of reading, writing, and speaking was conducted as a response to public criticism of teachers' skills and as a means of meeting a competency requirement in the…

As part of a study of the basic skills of secondary level education students, a study was conducted at Pennsylvania State University of the writing ability of prospective secondary level teachers. Raters holistically scored writing samples of 43 preservice teachers of English, mathematics, science and social studies. When writing scores of all…